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PLUS: BASKETBALL; A McDonald's Game For Girls, Too

For the last 24 years, the McDonald's All-America basketball game has showcased some of the nation's most talented schoolboys. Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Allan Houston, Kobe Bryant and Patrick Ewing were McDonald's all-Americans as high school seniors.

To mark its 25th anniversary next year, McDonald's will be host to its first all-American girls basketball game. The doubleheader will be played April 4 at Madison Square Garden.

Bob Geoghan, executive director of the game, said the timing was right for a girls' game.

''With the thrill of women's professional basketball and the colleges doing so well, we felt this would be the perfect time to recognize women,'' Geoghan said yesterday.

Teresa Weatherspoon of the New York Liberty said she was thrilled, calling the decision overdue.

The all-American team of 25 players is selected by an advisory committee headed by John Wooden, the legendary former U.C.L.A. men's basketball coach, and Morgan Wootten, the legendary boys' coach at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md. Players are chosen on the basis of athletic performance, character and grades. Lena Williams

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A version of this article appears in print on December 7, 2001, on Page S00007 of the National edition with the headline: PLUS: BASKETBALL; A McDonald's Game For Girls, Too. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe